Casting aspersion on talent
Public sector executives who have made millions by misusing their official positions invariably use the media to cast aspersions on honest talent and thus make merit suspect in the eyes of the intelligentsia and the masses. Propagation of a favourite being too obvious a ploy, the modus operandi is to defame the competition and thus knock it out of contention. The media handlers have a responsibility to the public and to themselves, they should not allow their impartiality to become the instruments of vested interest. The accepted method is to direct a spate of anonymous petitions to the Ministry concerned, the FIA and the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission. Secondly, contents of these petitions are leaked to both the collaborating and unsuspecting segments of the Press, with obviously sensational results. Before the objects of their wrath can muster any defence, they are already tarred and feathered, guilty until proven innocent. This is unfair for many reasons.
Take the example of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). Along with the Cotton Export Corporation of Pakistan (CECP) and the Rice Export Corporation of Pakistan (RECP), TCP forms the third leg of the public sector’s commitment to bolster Pakistan’s exports need. While cotton and rice are traditional items, TCP has the most important task of moving mainly non-traditional items to traditional and non-traditional trade partners. Despite the handicap of not being a true commercial entity in a very sensitive area of commercial operations, TCP made an enormous impact in 1983-85, encouraging genuine business entities to enter non-traditional areas in exports. All ventures are not necessarily successful, similarly some of TCP’s export ventures like mangoes failed to be profitable. However, in the process they opened up new markets for new items. No matter, the then Chairman TCP was vilified from pillar to post, lurid tales were pounced upon by the media. The executives were so pilloried that some of them seriously considered resigning their government service. Most of the information flow was derived from motivated personnel within TCP whose vested interest by defaming the concerned executives was that they would either resign or be summarily removed. The coast would then be clear to loot the public till. This is about par for the course for most of the public sector.
Such adverse propaganda caused the next Chairman TCP to play safe and stop all export activity except for lip-service. The stoppage of TCP’s export thrust had a commensurate dampening effect on non-traditional exports and in non-traditional areas. Simply because it suited the ambitions and greed of the vested few we had to suffer reverses instead of multiple anticipated gains through exports. This subordination of the national interest to personal requirements usually escape approbation because there is no law that can counter defamation of character and outright libel. This severely curbs the initiative of dynamic executives who feel scared in taking risks, the touchstone of business success. People who do not allow the public till to be looted at will are the primary objects of the wrath of the corrupt.
PIA gets much more media attention than a commensurate airline would get in another third world or developed country. Because it was the pioneer corporate entity to adopt first world corporate methods and style, PIA became the focus of employment seekers in Pakistan, you had to have clout of some nature to get a PIA job. After the first PPP Government came to power, this became more pronounced despite the fact that two successive executive heads were dynamic men, SU Durrani and later Mian Rafiq Saigol. Shunning most “Sifarishis”, they inducted a substantial number of professionals on merit as is the style of the private sector. After their departure, the floodgates opened to accommodate any number of people, ostensibly on political basis but also because of personal preferences, mainly without merit. Air Marshal Nur Khan’s second tenure in PIA did not match the performance in his previous stint. By 1982, PIA was suffering from severe over-employment and indiscipline, the overheads had reached alarming stage and a Martial Law Regulation was enacted to clean PIA out. As a full dress rehearsal to MLR 52, those Directors who were considered to be headed for the top slots were removed, men like Arif Abbasi, who later returned in 1989 to become an extremely successful Managing Director of PIA in the short period he remained appointed. Arif Abbasi later resigned in 1990 in sheer frustration because he could not compromise his principles and accommodate the pressure of political appointees. At least he showed the world that one man was sensitive to his conscience, how many of us can do that?
During the Martial Law period, the Director Marketing became all powerful, supported closely by the Finance Department. When you are giving jobs to sons (and lucrative postings abroad) of senior bureaucrats within the Establishment, their fathers reciprocate by taking care of you. With the largesse available for “entertainments”, to be dished out to the favourites in the media, you are liable to build up quite a media constituency also. The main source of loot was the award and monitoring of General Sales Agencies (GSAs) given by PIA in many countries, most of them for reasons other than merit. This corruption became a sore point for the professionals within PIA but they could not do anything about it till people like Arif Abbasi and Malik Nawaz Tiwana came to be executive heads. The misdemeanours lasted much more than the accepted average because of the lack of accountability in the Martial Law period. Finally the FIA got hold of cut and dried cases (out of more than a hundred or so) against two senior Directors in different incidents but failed to capitalize on the hard evidence. Their contacts in the Establishment not only ensured their survival in PIA, their strength was symbolized by their being promoted as well. One of the disadvantages of promotion is that you get kicked upstairs away from the source of your strength and power, this is magnified when honest professionals fill the vacant slots. That rankles and the Ungodly are obliged in such circumstances to call in IOUs from all directions to remove “obstacles” creating hurdles in the money-making. Character assassination by using the media weapon is a favourite method.
The present objects of the wrath of the “Mafia” in PIA are the professional executives who came into officer cadres in the early 70s and are now coming into Director’s appointments.
Their honesty, integrity and dedication are well acknowledged within PIA by their superiors and subordinates for having saved PIA millions of US dollars, particularly in refusing certain “customary” under-the-table payments to airline sharks. Incidentally, some cases where PIA refused payment because of their intercession are still pending before the Ombudsman. They have upset the powers-that-be by uncovering a systematic perpetuation of huge fraud at the airlines expense. Discovering pilferages in the PIA GSA accounts in various countries does not exactly endear you to those gentlemen who lose out their underhand money and subsequently are taken to task. Arif Abbasi had instituted criminal proceedings against certain crooked executives in 1989. Doesn’t it sound strange that some of the airline’s senior executives are extremely keen in paying out $250,000 or so of the Airline’s money when they know it is doubtful payment to start with? As Directors, the potential of the honest executives for harm to the Ungodly will increase. The slander campaign is therefore well understood, the stakes are enormous. As such, these executives remain overdue for promotion, such are the wages of honesty and integrity, the cacophony not taking into account the fact that their ability has been appreciated by two successive professional Managing Directors, Arif Abbasi and Malik Nawaz Tiwana, who incidentally are not known to see eye to eye with each other.
The unfortunate death of the COAS was occasion for some of the media to run riot with respect to speculation. In the process some outrageous facts were touted on behalf of and against candidates, certainly without their knowledge or consent. This riot of misinformation caused apprehension among the intelligentsia as it invited public acclamation of the choice rather than by the constitutional means in which the President makes the decision after consultation with the PM and with his concurrence as to the correct person. Certain media representatives ignored the necessity of preserving the sanctity of the Army as a national institution by resorting to sensationalism. Not much good was said about anybody particular but of significance was the airing of supposed disqualifying points of the not-so-favourites. To have their careers bandied about after 30 or so odd years or so of meritorious service to the nation was demeaning to the Lieutenant Generals concerned.
The fourth estate has a duty to keep the public informed, that is the basis of accountability. However, we cannot permit ourselves to become the tools of those that perpetuate fraud and deceit or use the media to further advancement. Unfortunately money and power have inordinate clout and sometimes we fail to stay by the high moral standards that the media must maintain to sustain its credibility. Above all, we should refrain from being vicious with those whose only fault is that they are doing their job honestly and quietly without using the media as a weapon for their own purposes.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment